By Joanne O’Connor, Bridge2Blue
I was heartened to learn that Governor Abigail Spanberger and Democratic legislators moved quickly to put Virginia back on track for accurate voter-list maintenance—a core responsibility of state government—by rejoining the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). On March 24, 2026, Gov. Spanberger signed a sweeping executive order that re-established Virginia’s membership in ERIC, reversing the Youngkin administration’s 2023 withdrawal and restoring a proven, data-driven tool that helps states keep voter rolls current while strengthening election integrity and voter access.
In March 2023, based on a far-right conspiracy campaign, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s State Elections Commissioner, Susan Beals, sent a Departure Letter withdrawing Virginia from ERIC. Seven other Republican-led states (Ohio, Iowa, Florida, Missouri, West Virginia, Louisiana and Alabama) also withdrew from ERIC.
None of that made any sense, of course, as ERIC is an important nonprofit organization, supported by its member states, which works to identify inaccuracies in voter files. States submit voter registration and DMV data, which ERIC compares against Social Security Administration and USPS change-of-address records. Reports are then generated identifying out-of-date voter registration records, deceased voters, eligible but unregistered voters, and possible cases of illegal voting, such as double voting. States use these reports to update their records and remove ineligible or deceased voters, and cases of illegal voting, such as double voting They also contact likely eligible but unregistered voters who have moved and provide information on how to register. Possible cases of illegal voting are reviewed and, if found credible, referred to law enforcement.
By law, Virginia also exchanges voter data with bordering states “to identify duplicate registrations, voters who no longer reside in the Commonwealth, and other persons who are no longer entitled to be registered in order to maintain the overall accuracy of the voter registration system.”
The year 2022 marked the height of ERIC membership, with 31 participating states. It also showcased ERIC’s importance. Throughout that year, ERIC identified:
- Over 4.4 million potential new voters;
- 2.4 million people who moved between participating states and 7.3 people who moved within them;
- 200,000 in-state duplicate registrations; and
- 65,000 deceased voters.
So why did Gov. Youngkin leave ERIC? Because it was working, and Donald Trump didn’t like that as he geared up for another run for the White House in 2024 (on November 15, 2022 Trump announced his run for president again in 2024). Clearly, cleaning up voter rolls was not a function Trump embraced (quite the contrary!), despite his calls for “election integrity.” The fact is, Trump’s repeated, completely unfounded (aka FALSE) claims of “rigged elections” and dead people “voting” would have been harder to sustain if ERIC had continued doing exactly what it was designed to do. Thus, Trump’s hostility to ERIC – and the participation by Youngkin’s Elections Commissioner in a February 2023 conference hosted by right-wing groups, including the Heritage Foundation, which among other things discussed what they referred to as “Realistic ERIC Fixes and Reforms.” Then, on March 6, 2023, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: “All Republican Governors should immediately pull out of ERIC, the terrible Voter Registration System that ‘pumps the rolls’ for Democrats and does nothing to clean them up. It is a fool’s game for Republicans.” Given his marching orders by Trump, it’s not surprising that the politically ambitious and unscrupulous Youngkin did what he was told, irresponsibly withdrawing Virginia from ERIC. Not surprisingly, that withdrawal had adverse consequences for Virginia, as state election officials have faced greater challenges obtaining information to keep voter rolls up to date and to conduct routine voter list maintenance.
Fortunately now, thanks to Governor Spangberger and Democratic legislators, a number of voting rights and election and voter protection laws have been adopted, and Virginia can return to the business of improving and maintaining voter rolls, protecting voting rights for all Virginians, and strengthening our fragile democracy. And as always, the lesson here is, don’t put MAGA Republicans in positions of authority, because every time voters do, those MAGA Republicans create problems, including harm to our elections and our democracy, as in the case of Youngkin withdrawing Virginia from ERIC.
